[rpirtle]

I'm in Texas. Each Chapter can develop their own method of evaluating officials. Some smaller Chapters are very informal due to the territory they cover and the limited availability of officials. Others are more formal in their evaluating and rating process. In Ft. Worth we have two clinics we put on each year to evaluate new and veteran officials. One is a two-person camp and the other a 3-person camp. In addition, we recently developed a formal evaluation form derived from a combination of several internet resources (NASO, TASO, & other officiating associations). Finally, our Assignor identifies officials that need to be evaluated (usually transfers) and sometimes our members request to be evaluated if they are trying to move up. The ratings given are from 1 thru 5 with 1 being the most proficient. An official with a rating of 1 or 2 is eligible to work varsity assignments. A rating of 5 indicates a new official with no officiating experience.

Doghead, I would like to issue one word of caution since it appears you and your group are just developing an evaluation system. If at all possible, make sure the system you develop has some mechanism to reevaluate every official each year. This will enable your chapter to ensure each official is working games that correspond to their CURRENT skill level. I have officiated in two different states. I started in Northern CA (NCOA) and am now in TX (Ft. Worth Chapter TASO). The two are very different in their methods of evaluating officials. But they are (or were when I left in 2000) the same in at least one crucial way. Once an official had reached the top rating, they could not be reevaluated. That is to say, once an official has demonstrated they can no longer work at the level they had once achieved, there is no mechanism to lower their rating and make sure they are put in games that are appropriate for their current skill level. But, this is a very sensitive area due to the fact that these officials often times represent the bulk of your chapter's expertise & experience. You don't want to alienate these officials so that they feel they are no longer useful. Their knowledge is invaluable and would be a terrible loss to your chapter.

Anyway, hope this helps and sorry for the long post. I also hope I did not misrepresent the current state of affairs regarding my fellow officials in Northern CA. I learned a lot from them. They were the ones that helped me develop the love I have for officiating today. Have a great year.

[Edited by rpirtle on Dec 8th, 2003 at 01:01 PM]